Visakhapatnam: Temple bells to ring louder for devotees soon

Visakhapatnam: Amid Centre's unlock 1.0, temple bells are getting readied to ring louder as the places of worship will remain open for the devout from June 8. Temple authorities have kept their focus on facilitating safe darshan for the devotees by considering a slew of measures. They include, maintenance of social distancing with markings, making masks mandatory, thermal screening at queue lines and disinfectant tunnel facility.

With the Endowments Department instructing the temple Executive Officers to make all the necessary arrangements in advance, efforts are on to wrap up steps pertaining to safe darshan for the devout. A large number of devotees are expected at Simhachalam as the shrine is opening its gates after 70-day of lockdown. Apparently, RTC bus is a major mode of transport for the devotees to reach Simhachalam. However, as city buses are yet to operate, temple authorities are planning to ply Devasthanam buses to ferry the devotees to the hilltop for now.

Sharing his views about relaxation, G Sreenivasa Charyulu, priest at Simhachalam Devasthanam, says, "Many devotees could not visit places of worship during the past 70 days in the wake of coronavirus-induced lockdown. Soon, a majority of them would be entering the shrine to seek divine blessings. Prayers will be offered to make the world coronavirus-free and bestow people with a strong immune system to fight against the virus."

Keeping social distancing in view, Simhachalam Devasthanam has decided to run its buses and ensure boarding of 25-30 passengers per trip. According to the directions issued by the Endowments Department last month, 250 devotees per hour are allowed at the temples and the timings will be limited to 6 am to 6 pm. But the State government is yet release guidelines. Officials concerned say that the pandemic norms will be more or less the same as issued by the Endowments Department. "There are about 962 temples in the district, including those belonging to 6(A), 6(B) and 6 (C) categories.

Once we receive guidelines from the State government, arrangements will be made accordingly," says K Shanti, Assistant Commissioner, Endowments Department, Visakhapatnam. Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam, Sri Kanaka Mahalakshmi at Burujupeta, Sri Satynarayana Swami temple at Isukakonda and Nookambika temple at Anakapalle, among other shrines are expected to witness considerable queues. In temples like these, disinfectant tunnels should be arranged as the inflow of devotees is huge. However, steps towards this direction are yet to take shape.

Temple authorities are considering extra precautions in terms of containing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic as many from Odisha, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh along with several parts of the state are expected to visit Simhachalam and other shrines as the lockdown restriction gets lifted.